Scientists have established when cancer chemotherapy can damage the heartResearchers have identified a critical period during which chemotherapy treatment for cancer poses the greatest risk to the cardiovascular system

Scientists discovered risk markers for heart damage during chemotherapy: high levels of inosine and hypoxanthine in the blood can predict dangerous complications. A study by Canadian scientists from the University of Alberta was published in the prestigious scientific journal Nature Communications.

Cardiotoxicity remains one of the most serious and life-threatening complications of anticancer therapy. Many chemotherapeutic agents, while effectively destroying cancer cells, simultaneously cause substantial damage to the heart muscle, which can lead to the development of heart failure and forced interruption of vital treatment.

"Our goal is to develop a blood test that will allow us to determine in advance who has an increased risk of cardiotoxicity and to select safer treatment," explained the research leader Gopinath Sutendra.

The research group analyzed blood samples from 22 breast cancer patients who participated in the MANTICORE clinical trial. This study focused on examining the side effects of anthracyclines and taxanes - two classes of chemotherapy drugs notoriously known for their ability to cause cardiac complications. Detailed comparison of analyses taken before, during, and after treatment revealed a clear pattern: patients with initially elevated levels of inosine and hypoxanthine were significantly more likely to develop signs of heart muscle damage.

To investigate the mechanisms of this connection, scientists conducted a series of experiments on laboratory animals. The results proved to be quite revealing: tumors actively release specific signaling molecules that increase the concentration of inosine and hypoxanthine in the bloodstream. These compounds, circulating in the body, negatively affect the heart muscle, significantly reducing the protective mechanisms of cells and making DNA less stable and more susceptible to the toxic effects of chemotherapeutic agents.

Currently, Professor Sutendra's team is intensively working on creating an innovative drug capable of selectively blocking the synthesis of inosine and hypoxanthine. Such a therapeutic approach could become a real breakthrough, simultaneously protecting the heart from damage and slowing the progression of oncological disease.